Meet Kindred Lubeck, the Designer Behind Taylor Swift’s Engagement Ring

Across the fine jewelry market, the name Kindred Lubeck is one many recognize, thanks to her strong online presence and impact on the market. As the owner of her New York City-based studio, Artifex Fine Jewelry, she’s built a reputation for crafting hand-engraved, timeless pieces, especially rings adorned with mesmerizing gemstones, some selling for as much as $38,000.

But after it was revealed that Kindred designed the engagement ring Travis Kelce gave Taylor Swift, which ABC News confirmed, her name started popping up everywhere. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know more about the young jeweler entrusted with creating such a stunning ring for Taylor. So, as requested, here’s the scoop on Kindred and how she got her start. Spoiler: She didn’t begin as a jeweler, but she does come from a family with deep roots in jewelry making.

Kindred Lubeck is the owner of the NYC jewelry studio Artifex Fine Jewelry, which describes her as “a goldsmith, hand engraver, and vintage jewelry collector” on its website. Specializing in gemstone rings that range from around $6,000 to as much as $38,000 (at least for the pieces featured online), she apparently also takes special requests, like the one she made for Travis and Taylor, because let’s be honest, Travis isn’t just going to “pick something off the shelf.”

Artifex Fine Jewelry is a pretty big deal in the jewelry market, and it’s easy to see why just by browsing Kindred’s collection. But she’s also made plenty of noise on social media, with over 177,000 followers on Instagram and more than 260,000 on TikTok. Her ability to engrave so meticulously and beautifully is perhaps what really draws people to her work (while desperately wishing they could snag at least one piece from her collection).

What’s interesting is that Kindred never really planned on becoming a jeweler, but life kind of led her there. After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in psychology, which she revealed in an interview with Voyage Jacksonville in 2024, she spent a few months working at a law office before realizing it wasn’t for her.

She admitted she “always felt very confused on what I would eventually do with my life,” but eventually decided to “swallow her pride” and approach her father, Jay Lubeck, a well-known goldsmith in Neptune Beach, about working part-time until she figured things out. At the time, she was only 24.

That was October 2019, and soon after, COVID hit. While the pandemic may not have helped business, it gave Kindred plenty of time to pick up tips on the craft of goldsmithing from her dad. “I was hooked immediately,” she told the outlet. She started with silver, moved on to gold, and her work quickly began gaining traction online. “It’s my engraved pieces that put me on the digital map,” she said.

By August 2023, she launched her online-only consultation jewelry business, and the following year, she made the leap to NYC, opening her own studio. “I think it’s important to mention that I was able to do this without any financial help in the form of loans, donations, or gifts,” she pointed out.

Now, Kindred isn’t just creating exquisite jewelry; she’s the artist behind Taylor Swift’s engagement ring, a milestone that’s likely to take her to an entirely new level.